|
Posted by Bubba on September 14, 2006, 7:34 am
On 13 Sep 2006 23:53:38 -0500, t@toddh.net (Todd H.) wrote:
>
>I'm curious on opinions from pro's of the water test for residential
>heat exchangers advocated by Ellis Prach of
>http://www.heatexchangerexperts.com/ In this test, the tech pulls the
>blower, douses the exchanger with a water solution from a large
>sprayer, and then looks inside the combustion area for water
>penetration. If there's water getting in, they reason, you have a
>breached heat exchanger that they recommend replacing it.
>
>I'm suspicious of this Prach guy though... a self-proclaimed heat
>exchanger expert, and evidently pontificates--in his seminars he holds
>all over the country training HVAC techs--that he can even find leaks
>in a heat exchanger that's 3 years old. His seminars are apparently
>quite hands-on and he travels with several actual heat exchangers and
>demonstrates trouble spots on each. I've talked to two attendees and
>they concur on these points.
>
>So, do y'all think this is a worthwhile diagnostic test that
>correlates with real safety issues, or just a great way to sell new
>furnaces and make this Prach guy rich giving seminars from companies
>so willing to have him teach techs to find leaks in 3 year old heat
>exchangers?
>
>The whole thing seems to hinge on the assumption that if the heat
>exchanger isn't water tight, then it isn't air tight, and the further
>assumption that pressures inside the furnace are such that combusion
>byproducts might actually make it into the airflow of such leakage
>areas.
>
>My own situation that motivates the question: a tech (from a
>significant, well-respected company in Chicagoland that I've used for
>years because they invest in training their techs rather well) had
>attended a seminar by this man recently, and had come to give my 15
>year old Carrier furnace the annual cleaning and once over. Perhaps
>it was the age of the furnace, or the rust on it from the prior owner
>not occupying hte house for the prior two years, but soething
>compelled him to drop the blower and perform this new test he'd
>learned recently. Now, this is a furnace that had a visual inspection
>and tested CO free on all chambers last November for whatever that's
>worth. I understand that for CO to form and get into ducts you need a
>lot more than an HX breach.
>
>Personally, I may go ahead and replace the furnace based on age and
>the suspicion alone, and enjoy the comfort and efficiency afforded by
>a newer 2-stage and/or variable speed furnace since my time horizons
>in this home are long enough to get the payback.
>
>But I remain curious what folks think about this test all the same,
>and the likelihood that my current furnace _really_ has a safety
>concern.
>
>Thanks in advance for any constructive thoughts or discussion.
>
>Best Regards,
Seems you've already made up your mind but I'll give you my .03
worth. I previously worked for a national hvac company that adopted
this practice like it came from the bible. This company was also into
high pressure sales practices and tactics. One little twist they added
to the test was to make sure the heat exchanger was nice and hot right
before they started spraying water on the heat exchanger. Common sense
tells you that hot thin metal and cold water are not a good
combination for a homeowners heat exchanger. CO tests, detectors and
visual inspections and cameras are a more advanced way of checking
heat exchangers.
Bubba
| 
Yahoo! 
Google 
Windows Live 
del.icio.us 
digg 
Netscape 
XML Sitemap